ST ATHANASIA OF AEGINA, WIDOW

ST ATHANASIA OF AEGINA, WIDOW - 18 APRIL

Saints celebrated on the 18th of April

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST ATHANASIA OF AEGINA, WIDOW

Saint Athanasia, born about A.D. 790, was the daughter of Christian nobles, Niketas and Irene, and experienced the mystical union of a star merging with her heart while weaving at the loom when she was a young girl.

SHE WISHED TO LEAD A SPIRITUAL LIFE

She wanted a spiritual life, but an imperial edict required all single women of marriageable age to marry soldiers. At 16 years old, at her parents urging, she complied and married a young officer. Sixteen days after her wedding, her husband was killed in a battle.

SHE CONVERTED HER HOME INTO A CONVENT

St Athanasia then gave away the bulk of her possessions, converted their home into a convent, and began building churches. She served as an abbess and was known for her miraculous healing of the sick and those seen as possessed.

THE COMMUNITY MOVED TO TIMIA

Her community later moved to Timia near the ancient church of Stephen the Protomartyr. Here crowds flocked to see her. As her fame grew, she moved to Constantinople seeking solitude as an anchoress in a cell for seven years. While walled away, she was an adviser to the Empress Theodora II. After seven years, she returned to Aegina where she died of natural causes three days later at Timia on August 14, 860.

HER RELICS

Her relics are preserved at Timia in a specially made reliquary, and they are revered for their reputed healing powers.

(Information from Wikipedia -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasia_of_Aegina)

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